Has Debbie Wasserman Schultz Been Trying To Cockblock Bernie Sanders?

When I heard that Debbie Wasserman Schultz was going to appear on The Daily Show, I thought to myself that host Trevor Noah had one job, and one job only: to ask the Democratic Party Chair why she was going to such great lengths to undermine Bernie Sanders’ campaign and guarantee a win for his rival, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. And thankfully, that’s exactly what Noah did.

Debbie Wasserman Shultz, who has caught a lot of flak throughout the past year for pushing a lackluster debate schedule that strongly favored Hillary Clinton, opened herself up to a line of questioning by claiming she wants Clinton and Sanders to debate daily, when the reality is seemingly opposite of that claim.

“From my standpoint, I want them to debate everyday, and I bet my counterpart Reince Priebus wants them to debate never, because every time they open their mouths, they do something to alienate somebody else.”

This led Noah to ask her the question we all wanted him to ask:

“A lot of people feel that Bernie Sanders has been… I’m going to paraphrase, or really quote Twitter rather, that Bernie’s being ‘cockblocked’ by the DNC. Is there any merit to this?”

Debbie Wasserman Schultz responded to Noah’s question, but the audience’s applause showed just how popular the theory is.

“You know… I’m a… as powerful as that makes me feel, I’m not doing a very good job of rigging the outcome or ‘blocking’ anyone from being able to get their message out. The reality is I have a job as a national party chair that is one that requires a thick skin. It requires me to be able to absorb the body blows so our candidates can stay above the fray. And you know, if I have to take a few punches in order for them to be able to make sure they’re able to get their message out, then so be it. But I’m all about making sure that ultimately we can elect our party’s nominee in the general election.”

Noah went on to ask Wasserman Schultz about the DNC’s super delegates, and whether they go against the notion that voters, not party elites, should choose candidates.

“First of all, we’ve had super delegates since I graduated from high school in 1984… but look, we have party activists, elected officials, and other leaders that are a part of our process, but who have never determined the outcome of our nominee. It’s voters that can and should determine that outcome, and they always have. And we have activists who are also a part of that process. But if you look at what’s going on on the other side, I bet my counterpart is wishing for some kind of magic pill or some Harry Potter invisible cloak that he could use to make his problems go away.”

As Debbie Wasserman Schultz herself admitted, if she’s trying to rig the system in favor of Clinton, she’s doing a piss-poor job of it — when you exclude super delegates, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton are locked in a dead heat. But the theories that she rigged the debate schedule to favor Clinton, that she and the DNC leaked voter data in an effort to implicate Bernie Sanders, and other alleged conspiracies aren’t going away any time soon.

Matt Terzi is a political satirist and essayist from Binghamton, New York, who has written for some of the most prominent satire publications in the country. He’s now moving into more “serious” subject matter, without losing touch with his comedic roots